Knowledge, Behaviour and Compliance among Parents of Pediatric Population Taking Anti-Epileptic Drug

Abstract

Introduction: Epilepsy, a brain disorder characterised by seizures is one of the most common neurological disorders in children. Nearly 12 million among 70 million epileptic children worldwide are expected to reside in India.The aim of the study is to assess knowledge, behaviour and compliance towards epilepsy and antiepileptic drugs among parents of pediatric population. This study is the first hospital-based study in Gujarat to investigate the Knowledge, Behaviour and Compliance among pediatric population. Methods & Material: The study was prospective, observational, multi centered and was carried out for the period of6months. During the study period, all inpatients and outpatients in pediatric ward diagnosed with epilepsy were screened using a 25-itemed self-designed questionnaire. A total of 102 participants matching the study criteria were included in the study. Result: This study shows that there is a lack of knowledge among parent’s/caretaker’s regarding epilepsy disease and the disease still remains to be highly stigmatized. Inappropriate first-aid measures are preferred by parents in our study. Positive behaviour is found towards the disease in our study although some negative attitudes towards the disease are also found but minimally. Our study’s adherence rate was found to be 59.8% which represents a respectable outcome. Conclusion: Lack of knowledge regarding epilepsy was found in our study population. Majority of the respondents were with positive attitude towards the disease and medication but negative attitudes are also found in our study. Adherence rate is high in our study which is a satisfactory result.